Cars you didn't know existed until very recently.

[sheffcortinacentre]

Yep you can follow the full build on buysellcortina he has a business restoring MK1 cortinas

[Austat]

Steinwinter 250 & 250L, licensed built Fiat 500s and 126s with Goggomobil engines made in Stuttgart:

They also have emblems of the Stuttgart Horse, which can trick people into thinking it's a Ferarri, only if they just see the badge though.

[chaseracer]

But...

...why?

?

[bunglebus]

1 hour ago, Austat said:

 

They also have emblems of the Stuttgart Horse, like the Porsches do.

 

 

Ferarris have horses, but Porsches are made in Stuttgart...

[Austat]

2 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

 

Ferarris have horses, but Porsches are made in Stuttgart...

My supercar knowledge isn't great.

[Austat]

They also made this apparently, the Supercargo:

... and this as well:

[Mr_Bo11ox]

That Steinwinter Fiat 126 is a fantastic find. Never even heard of this at all. 250cc!!!! What must that have been like to drive!!! I suppose a fiat 126 with its engine 60% disabled.

 

[barrett]

I know there used to be quite convoluted tiers of German driving licences (who would have guessed, eh?) and you could drive a vehicle of 250cc or less on an 'easy' licence which was really designed for people riding small motorbikes and mopeds rather than cars - I know this was the case in the '50s but possibly it carried on into the '70s. Otherwise, WHAT IS POINT?

[vulgalour]

Speaking of weird small German cars you've never heard of, here's a BMW E1

[RoadworkUK]

The E1 really should have been built, but as an ICE supermini. We lost out on an alternative future with Gumtree full of these for £750 each.

[adw1977]

It looks a bit over inflated. 

[Dick Cheeseburger]

On 1/28/2020 at 12:04 AM, Austat said:

Ford Cortina Saxon Concept:

So pretty. 

I look at the likes of lardy Nissan Pukes with fussy, pointless lines emanating from everywhere, whilst still having limited interior space. 

Then I look at this and think about how every line looks like it actually has a purpose. 

Isn't this particular car a meticulously built re-creation?

[sheffcortinacentre]

Yes the full story is on www.buysellcortina.co.uk 

[BL Bloke]

Until I got to Cannock I'd never heard of a Chevrolet Epica, let alone seen one.

[Austat]

I quite fancy this, it was on eBay yesterday but sold now. The infamous "Blydenstein Viva" by Mike Dodson:

As featured in Custom Car magazine in June 1974:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Historically-important-66-vauxhall-viva-blydenstein-90-deluxe-ha-ex-mike-Dodson-/233478985385?hash=item365c6e96a9%3Ag%3AsdwAAOSwt69eMIzg&autorefresh=true&nma=true&si=voVhdGHtJtnW6r%2BqddBqHF%2BO2u8%3D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

[Zelandeth]

On 1/27/2020 at 8:03 PM, bunglebus said:

OK I  knew they existed, but I'd never seen a Kia Stinger before

20200127_143551 by RS, on Flickr

20200127_143539 by RS, on Flickr

We had a demonstrator a year or so back.  We were very, very impressed.

Only things we would have liked was a bit more of a voice from the exhaust and some colour in the cabin.  We reckoned that just some coloured stitching on the seats etc to match the body colour would have been perfect.

Would have to be that yellow for me...it just suits the character of the car so well.

The only word which sprang to mind when I saw it was "badass" as I recall.

I love the detail in the styling, things like the way the shut line for the tailgate perfectly meets up with the rear doors.

About a week later we had a top of the line Optima estate...we all agreed that in every department aside from engine refinement at full bore it knocked the stuffing out of the Audi A6 that was on the drive.  It looked better, rode massively better, was roomier and felt better screwed together.  We were really struggling to come up with any real shortcomings.

If I do ever find myself picking up a new car the only dealers I'll be looking at will be Kia and Volvo I think...

[New POD]

6 hours ago, BL Bloke said:

Until I got to Cannock I'd never heard of a Chevrolet Epica, let alone seen one.

It looks a bit like they borrowed the Vectra c and changed it. 

[Snipes]

That Stinger looks way too busy for my tastes.

[bunglebus]

Transporter full of odd Land Rovers spotted in Germany 

[New POD]

Yeah, that's the new land rover. 

[warch]

What's the betting that it makes its way into the executive 4x4 section when SHB hire finally replace their Defender fleet. Shame really because I would like to have a go in one.

[ChinaTom]

That Epica is probably an in-line six cylinder. 
 

anyway, what about this little beauty?

 

 

[lesapandre]

That Landrover thing. Oh dear oh dear oh dear. First proper outing where I drive my 4x4 Landcruiser (muddy narrow rutted lanes, hedges and bushes sticking out, huge potholes and muddy fields) all that stupid plastic would be caked in mud or in tatters. What are they doing! Surely there is a market for a proper 4x4...or is that not profitable or satisfy legislation?

It looks like an 80's kit car 4x4. Rickman Ranger and the like. Will people pay good money to look like ****ers. Probably yes.

Rickman quite elegant in comparison.

[myglaren]

Saw one of these yesterday.  A new one for me.

[lesapandre]

Copen I think. Very small but they look fun.

[bunglebus]

Yes please

 

[JeeExEll]

Triumph Pony.  A what???

4X4 based on the Triumph 1300 fwd but with drive to a rear axle (obv). Could have made an interesting road saloon, a missed opportunity for the Toledo or Dolomite in the 70s?  A Dolomite Sprint quattro.  Hmm.

[High Jetter]

That's interesting. They did convert a 1300FWD with 4WD for rallying, but it didn't last long. Maybe if it had.....

[lesapandre]

An awful lot of time was spent by British manufacturers in developing new vehicles that got close to production but did not make it. Thats an awful lot of wasted talent and ideas alas. 

A lot of it was dropped as companies amalgamated. Some was just not commercial and some was dead end tech or misjudged in the marketplace or where they did not see the future clearly enough.

Rover toiled with their gas turbine  for example when really at the time a great diesel was what they want for the LR etc. They also had two cars production ready that were dropped on the BLMC merger.

Ferguson had their 4-wheel drive and anti-lock braking tech that I think Triumph, Jensen and then Ford UK tried.

So many great things not pursued for whatever reason.

 

[lesapandre]

10 minutes ago, JeeExEll said:

Triumph Pony.  A what???

4X4 based on the Triumph 1300 fwd but with drive to a rear axle (obv). Could have made an interesting road saloon, a missed opportunity for the Toledo or Dolomite in the 70s?  A Dolomite Sprint quattro.  Hmm.

This could have been an MoD contract prototype? As part of a potential supplier proposal that came to nothing?